PANJIM: The High Court of Bombay at Goa on Wednesday ordered Pernem Deputy Collector and the Pernem Police to seal a four-storeyed hotel allegedly constructed illegally in No Development Zone(NDZ) in survey number 63/92 at Girkarwada, Arambol.
Pointing out that the case calls for serious action, the Court ordered the Pernem Deputy Collector along with the Pernem Police Inspector to ensure that the commercial activities are fully stopped and the premises are sealed. The electricity and water connections, if granted, must also be disconnected within the next 48 hours, the Court stated.
The four-storeyed structure with an open terrace was constructed illegally within hardly 50 metres from the seashore in NDZ under the CRZ Notification without obtaining permissions from any of the authorities and without any Occupancy Certificate from the Arambol Village Panchayat, the Court order pointed out.
The Court order came in view of a writ petition filed by one Ravi Harmalkar of Anjuna and Rajesh Dabholkar of Reis Magos. The Deputy Collector and the Arambol panchayat have been asked to submit a compliance report to the Court on November 1.
Arguing on behalf of the petitioners, Adv Hanumant D Naik said that the Arambol village panchayat despite having passed order-cum-notice dated July 22, 2023 to demolish the illegal construction of the hotel within 15 days, had failed to demolish the said illegal construction, in clear violation of the provisions of Section 66 of the Goa Panchayat Raj Act, 1994.
Adv Naik further pointed out that the said illegal construction was carried out in NDZ of CRZ area and therefore, the same was also in violation of the CRZ Regulations.
The Division bench comprising Justice Mahesh S Sonak and Justice B P Deshpande observed that the panchayat had not issued occupancy certificate and yet the respondent Ashok Kandhari had chosen to occupy the illegal structure and even start using the same for commercial operations. Kandhari was also unable to state whether he had obtained consent to operate from the Goa State Pollution Control Board.
Looking at the photographs, the Court said that the construction was affected by the CRZ notification and that the structure was nestled between the sea and the rivulet or the creek. Clearances from all the authorities was a must because the commercial operations could lead to serious water pollution, the Court said as instances were on the rise where sewage was directly discharged into water bodies.
The Court also expressed its shock and surprise at the panchayat’s failure to act against the structure of this magnitude coming up in the village.